With Christmas a few days away, it seems appropriate to highlight some of the old and not-so-old churches of the La Candelaria neighborhood, Bogotá's historical center. The churches are handsome, majestic and elaborate, and one doesn't have to be a believer, much less a Catholic, to appreciate their beauty.

To me, one of Bogotá's prettiest and most touching traditions is the annual Noche de las Velitas, or Night of the Little Candles, which symbolically inaugurates the Christmas season. Bogotanos, particularly in La Candelaria, put lighted candles in doorways, windowsills and sidewalks.

Trust the people of Medellin to make a super weekend retreat around the base of an artificial lake and a huge anomalous boulder. Guatape is fantastic. Climbing out of the stifling Aburra Valley the air clears and a slight chill sets in and this is a welcome relief from the bustle and closeness of Medellin. With the bare corrugated iron rooftops and the stark bricks of the city’s outer-lying communas disappearing beneath the lip of the hill the winding roads past Rionegro give way to Marinilla and on to the town of Guatape and its views over the impressive Embalse de Guatapé as the lake is known.